81779 - WEB SOCIETY AND GLOBALIZATION (LM)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

Al termine del Corso gli studenti sono in grado di distinguere e analizzare le diverse nozioni di globalizzazione e come le tecnologia dell’informazione influenzano la vita quotidiana, i mercati e i consumi. In particolare, lo studente è in grado di: - sviluppare una comprensione della globalizzazione in chiave sociologica; - comprendere la cultura di Internet e la relazione tra globalizzazione e società del web; - analizzare l’impatto sui comportamenti individuali e sulla società in generale all’interno dei Social Network e delle comunità online attraverso la condivisione di informazioni private nella sfera pubblica; - inquadrare l’emergenza di una retorica della democratizzazione e della partecipazione nella società del Web; - comprendere le mutevoli relazioni tra produttori e consumatori all’interno della società del Web- riconoscere le conseguenze e gli effetti del divario digitale, sia a livello nazionale che mondiale.

Contenuti

A printed detailed syllabus will be provided to students the first day of class. The course is strutture in  four learningas follows:

1. Globalizations

1.1 Definition

1.2 History

1.3 Critiques

1.4 Social Consequences

2. Web society e social media

2.1 Context analysis

2.2 Media Evolution

2.3 Social Consequences

3. Production, consumption, prosumption

3.1 Paradigm and definition

3.2 The rise of the prosumer

3.3 Prosumer capitalism

4. Digital divide and inequalities

4.1 Definition

4.2 Characteristics

4.3 Consequences

Each module will have specific reading material and planned classroom activities

Testi/Bibliografia

Books

• G. Ritzer (2018), The McDonaldization of Society: Into the Digital Age, SAGE Publications.
• J. van Dijk (2018), The Platform Society: Public Values in a Connective World, Oxford University Press.
• N. Agar (2019), How to BeHuman in the Digital Economy, The MIT Press.

Articles

• G. Ritzer, P. Degli Esposti (2020), Creative Destruction and Cultural Lag in the Digital Age, Sociology Between the Gaps
• Ritzer, G., & Degli Esposti, P. (2020). The increasing centrality of prosumption in the digital capitalist economy. Österreichische Zeitschrift Für Soziologie: Vierteljahresschrift Der Österreichischen Gesellschaft Für Soziologie, 45(3), 351. https://doi-org.ezproxy.unibo.it/10.1007/s11614-020-00422-z

During the lectures will be given mandatory specific teaching materials (book chapters, articles, papers, documents, video). All the references will be available on the University of Bologna online teaching material platform.

 

Program for non attending students and those who will fail mid term test:

Students have to add to the program one book or tree articles from the selection below:

Books

• Lupton, D. (2015), Digital Sociology, Routledge, London.
• Finn, E. (2018), What Algorithms Want. Imagination in the Age of Computing, The MIT Press.
• Garten, J. (2016), From Silk to Silicon: The Story of Globalization, Amberley Publishing Limited.
• Swartz, L. (2020). New money : how payment became social media. Yale University Press. Tapscott, D., Tapscot, A. (2016), Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Penguin.

Articles

• G. Ahrne, P. Aspers, N. Brunsson (2015) The Organization of Markets, Organization Studies, Vol. 36(1) 7-22, Sage.
• R. J. Foster, The Work of the New Economy: Consumers, Brands and Value Creation, Cultural Anthropology, Vol. 2 issue 4, pp. 707-731, University of California Press.
• B. Cova, D. Dalli (2009), Working Consumers: The Next Step in Marketing Theory?, Marketing Theory, Volume: 9 issue: 3, page(s): 315-339, Sage.
• D. Lyon (2010), Liquid Surveillance. The Contribution of Zygmunt Bauman to Surveillance Studies, International Political Sociology 4.
• D. Lyon (2002), Surveillance in Cyberspace: The Internet, Personal Data, & Social Control, Queen's Quarterly, 109 (3).

 

Metodi didattici

A mix of lectures, seminars, collective discussion, student's presentations, documentaries and films.
Students are expected to be prepared on the assigned readings before each class.    
Participation is expected and rewarded. 

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

• Students are expected to do each week’s readings in advance of class, and to attend each lecture and section meeting. Your attendance and participation, and your level of engagement with the readings, are crucial to the quality of your experience as well as your success in the course.
• There are four major components of the course, all of which are required:
  
  • Active participation to class debates and activities
    
  • Individual or group presentation
  • Mid Term Test
  • Final Test

  If you DO NOT ATTEND the course and you would like to do the exam, please contact the professor in advance.

  Assessment methods

  The final exam aims to verify the achievement of the educational objectives. Students must attend at least 75% of classes.

  Evaluation criteria:

  • Active participation to class debates and activities 25%
    
  • Individual or group presentation 25%
  • Mid Term Test 25%
  • Final Test 25%

  To pass the course you must pass ALL assessments.
  

  To register the final grade is necessary that you enrol in the official dates in the website Almaesami (https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm) .
  

  For those students who did not pass the exam, or wish to improve their score, it is MANDATORY to write a paper of 5000 words that includes-quotes ALL the papers of the program.

  You have to deliver it printed in my office at least 2 weeks before the data of the oral exam and then you will discuss your work (and the program) during the exam.

  It is NOT POSSIBLE to do the oral exam if the paper was not delivered on time and passe.

  Final score will be a weighted average of the two tests.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

In-person lectures and seminar activities will be supported by educational material in digital form: slides and scientific articles in particular. Students will be able to use computers or tablets for class activities.
An extensive bibliography will also be provided for those who wish to study the subject in depth.

All student papers will be verified through the Compilatio.net plagiarism verification system

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Piergiorgio Degli Esposti